Light emitter chips, such as light emitting diode (LED) chips are solid state devices that can convert electric energy into light, and can generally comprise one or more active layers of semiconductor material sandwiched between oppositely doped layers. When a bias is applied across the doped layers, holes and electrons are injected into the active layer where they recombine to generate light. Light is emitted from the active layer and surfaces of the LED chip. LED chips can be packaged and used within various lighting products and/or lighting applications for provision of street and roadway lighting, parking lighting, indoor and outdoor lighting, portable lighting, etc.
Manufacturers of LED lighting products are constantly seeking ways to reduce their cost in order to provide a lower initial cost to customers, and encourage the adoption of LED products. Manufacturers are also constantly seeking ways to provide white light in a wider variety of applications, with greater energy efficiency, with improved color rendering index (CRI), with improved efficacy (1 m/W), and/or with longer duration of service.
Conventional LED lighting packages use primary lenses which are not optimized for light emission from multiple LED lighting sources, and therefore, have low CRI values. In addition, when viewed using conventional LED lighting, colored objects frequently fail to appear in a true color. That is, an object that reflects only yellow light, and thus that appears to be yellow when illuminated with white light, will appear dark almost black when illuminated with light having an apparent yellow color, produced by existing LED lighting products. Such products, therefore, are considered to provide poor color rendition, particularly when illuminating various settings, such as daytime and nighttime street lighting, outdoor lighting, or various indoor lighting.
Thus, despite the availability of various LED packages in the marketplace, a need remains for more cost-effective LED packages and/or methods which are efficient and have improved color rendition. Such packages and methods can also make it easier for end-users to justify switching to LED products from a return on investment or payback perspective.